J J Audit of the Swan River Management Strategy: A Status Report ~·���----¾,.­~"'~~~ �� Swan River Trust Report No. 31 1999 -------1------- SWAN RIVER TRUST 3rd floor, Hyatt Centre 87 Adelaide Terrace EAST PERTH Wes tern Australia 6004 Telephone: (08) 9278 0400 Facsimile: (08) 9278 0401 Printed on recycled paper ISBN O 7309 7456 1 11 Audit of the Swan River Management Strategy: A Status Report A report to the Swan River Trust SWAN RIVER TRUST 3rd floor, Hyatt Centre 87 Adelaide Terrace EAST PERTH Western Australia 6004 Telephone: (08) 9278 0400 iii -------1------- TERMS OF REFERENCE In 1986 the State Government established a Task Force to prepare an overall Management Strategy for the Swan and Canning rivers. In the absence of a detailed management program this document remains the hlue-print for managing the Swan and Canning rivers. The Strategy highlighted seven major issues facing the river system as a whole and outlined 259 recommendations to address them. As part of the Swan River Trust's normal auditing program, these recommendations were reviewed in 1994, to establish their status. In 1998 a second audit was completed to assess further progress towards implementing the 259 recommendations contained in the original strategy. This document summarises action taken since 1994 to implement each of the recommendations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Trust would like to thank all local government authorities for their continuing effort towards the protection of the river and the surrounding environment and in particular for the time in putting together the following information as part of the audit of Swan River Management Strategy. The Trust also appreciates the assistance of other state government departments and associations for their part in compiling this report. A list of contact persons is included below.' Thanks are expressed to Nicola Vinicombe for preparing the document, Paul Stephens for his assistance in reviewing the document, and Rita Sputore-Keller and Silvana Affolter for assistance in formatting the document. Contributors The following people provided information and assistance on various aspects of the Strategy audit: Mark Armstrong, Town of Victoria Park Andrew Cribb, Fisheries Department Robert Atkins, Swan River Trust Peter Dans, Department of CALM Steve Atwell, City of Canning Brian Devine, Health Department Tony Baird, City of Fremantle Barrie Dimond, Department of Land Administration Lindsay Baxter, Ministry for Planning Robert Donohue, Water and Rivers Commission Chris Bebbitch, Ministry for Planning Peter Drygala, Department of Minerals and Energy Rod Bercov, City of South Perth John Edwards, Department of CALM Patrick Berry, Museum of Western Australia Michael Foley, Shire of Swan John Booker, Department of Transport Brian Gardiner, Town of Bassendean Geoff Bott, Department of Environmental Protection Theresa Gepp, Department of CALM Malcolm Briggs, Department of CALM Juliette Gillon, City of Subiaco Ron Brookes, Town of Claremont Brad Gleeson, Shire of Mundaring Jason Byrne, Water and Rivers Commission Martin Glover, Town of Mosman Park Stephen Carrick, Heritage Council of WA Mark Goldstone, Main Roads WA Jim Chesterman, Ministry for Planning Leon Griffiths, Department of CALM Angela Clare, City of Belmont George Hendrick, Museum of Western Australia lV ------------1------------ Max Hipkins, City of Nedlands James Riley, City of Bayswater John Humphries, Town of Mosman Park David Ritchings, City of Gosnells Andrew Jackson, City of Melville James Robinson, City of Armadale Steve Jenkins, Department of Transport Greg Ryan, City of Perth Barry Johnson, Swan River Trust Glen Sargesson, City of Bayswater E van Jones, Ministry for Planning Yolanda Scheidegger, Town of Vincent Rochelle Lavery, Town of Victoria Park Greg Smith, Town of East Fremantle Grant MacKinnon, Shire of Swan Neil Snook, Shire of Peppermint Grove Alison Maggs, Heritage Council of WA Paul Stephens, Swan River Trust Mick McCarthy, Shire ofKalamunda Ray Stokes, Ministry for Planning Gary McKeown, Ministry for Planning Mark Taylor, City of South Perth Darryl Miller, Swan River Trust Fred Thomp, Dept. of Environmental Protection Gerry Parlevliet, Agriculture WA Jeremy Van Den Bok, Town of Vincent Mike Paul, Department of Transport David Vinicombe, City of Canning Chris Portnock, Department of CALM Brian Wall, City of Belmont Daniel Raja, City of Stirling Simon Walsh, Tourism Commission Peter Rankin, City of Armadale Ashley Wilson, Ministry for Sport and Recreation Brian Reed, Town of Bassendean Tony Wright, Health Department Martin Richardson, Shire of Swan Matthew Young, City of Fremantle V -------l------- i!iiii5 FOREWORD On behalf of the Swan River Trust I have great pleasure in releasing this document, the second review of the Swan River Trust Management Strategy since its release in September 1987. In the absence of a detailed management program the Strategy has remained a blue print for managing the Swan and Canning rivers. The Strategy has been supplemented by a number of other initiatives and programs that have been developed since the last audit. The Swan-Canning Cleanup Program, developed to improve water quality, has extended the boundaries well beyond just the river and its foreshores as recommended in the Swan River Trust Management Strategy, to include the much wider area of the Swan Avon catchment. The Government, since the last review in 1994 has released the Swan-Canning EPP, which provides further legislation to specifically protect the Swan and Canning rivers, and which calls for the development of a Comprehensive Management Plan for their management. The Trust has also substantially completed a review of its Management Area, a review of all its development policies, which were first developed in 1993, and the development of precinct policies for two sections of the river. In addition to these initiatives this report highlights and summarises the valuable and significant contribution that State and local government agencies and the community have achieved since towards the implementation of this strategy. Much of which has been undertaken in a climate of fiscal restraint. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the large numbers of stakeholders who have remained committed over the past four years, to improving the health of the waterways through their efforts. It is heartening to see that so many groups and organisations are dedicated to protecting our waterways for the benefit of future generations. ,- ✓~«( G.F. Totterdell Chairperson VJ -------~------- CONTENTS Terms of Reference . ............................. ..................................... ................................... IV Acknowledgments .............. IV Foreword ............................................................................ ........ VI 1. Background - The River ...................... .................................... .......... .. ........... 1 1.1 The Swan River Management Strategy ................................................................ .......................... ............. 1 1.2 1994 Review ............. .......... ... 1 1.3 1998 Status Report ................ ... .. ..... I 2. Strategy Recommendations 2.1 General Recommendations. .................... 3 2.2 Area Recommendations. ·················· ...... ············· ....... 75 3. Conclusion - Summary of Findings . ............ ·········· ........ 112 4. I 994 Key Recommendations .......................................... 114 5. References . ... 116 Appendix 1 ........... 120 Appendix 2 ......... ..................................... 122 Appendix 3 .. ............................ 123 VII -------1------- Vlll -------1------- 1.0 Background - The River The Swan and Canning rivers is arguably Perth's most single valuable asset, and as such holds a special place in the psyche of most West Australians. The river system is the centrepiece of Perth, a modern growing metropolitan city from which urban development emanates in all directions. It forms an important tourist, recreational, and scenic resource, which in a rapidly expanding urban environment needs to be balanced and managed effectively so as not to destroy this most valuable resource. In 1996 the Government announced the establishment of two studies. The first involved the establishment of the Swan River Management Strategy, which was released in 1998, following public comment. The second involved an independent Legislative and Administrative review of procedures affecting the river, which resulted in the fonnation of the Swan River Trust and Swan River Trust Act 1988, to coordinate development on the Swan and Canning rivers. The Trust was also given the responsibility to implement the Swan River Management Strategy. 1.1 The Swan River 1.2 1994 Review Management Strategy The Swan River Trust as part of the nonnal The Swan River strategy was developed with the auditing process undertook a complete review of aim "to balance the competing demands for use and the Strategy in 1994, to report to the community development with the need to conserve and enhance and government on the status of each of the 259 the functional healthy river environment for the recommendations. enjoyment of present and future generations". This review · highlighted those recommendations The Strategy provides an overall plan for action by: that were considered by the Trust to have a higher priority for implementation. These are highlighted • Identifying the roles and responsibilities of the in bold in the tables to follow in Section 2, and in a